Libya: Blast hits Foreign Ministry in Benghazi

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012 file photo, a Libyan man investigates the inside of the U.S. Consulate after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya. Four members of Army special forces ready to head to Benghazi, Libya, after the deadly assault on the American diplomatic mission had ended were told not to go, according to a former top diplomat. Gregory Hicks also argued in an interview with Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that if the U.S. military had flown aircraft over the Benghazi facility after it came under siege it might have prevented the second attack on the CIA annex that killed two CIA security officers. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Security officials say a powerful explosion has caused serious damage to Libya's Foreign Ministry building in the heart of the coastal city of Benghazi.

The early Wednesday morning blast also damaged the building next door housing the Benghazi branch of the Libyan Central Bank.

The officials said several passers-by were slightly injured by the blast, which blew out windows in nearby buildings. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The blast came exactly one year after al-Qaida-linked militants stormed the U.S. Consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, killing the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. Both Wednesday's bombing and last year's attack on the American consulate took place on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

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